WASHINGTON, D.C. (BNO NEWS) — President Obama met with top officials from former President Gerald Ford’s administration on Tuesday to discuss the 1976 H1N1 flu outbreak, the White House said.

“Today I joined the Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Education Secretary Arne Duncan, Homeland Security Advisor John Brennan and other senior advisors to meet with a select group of individuals who could speak knowledgeably about the lessons learned from the 1976 influenza so that we can further prepare this nation for the possibility of a more severe outbreak of H1N1 flu,” President Obama said in written statement.

Among the participants of the meeting, who all had administration roles in 1976, were:

* Hon. F. David Mathews, former Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW)
* Hon. William Howard Taft IV, former General Counsel, HEW
* David Sencer, MD, former CDC Director
* Walter (“Walt”) Dowdle, MD, former CDC Virology Division Director
* David Hamburg, MD, former President of the Institute of Medicine; current FDA Commissioner Peggy Hamburg’s father

Harvey Fineberg, who is the co-author of “The Swine Flu Affair: Decision-Making on a Slippery Disease”, also attended the meeting. He is currently the President of the Institute of Medicine.

The 1976 swine flu outbreak was a strain of the H1N1 influenza virus which was detected in Fort Dix. The strain killed one person directly and hospitalized 13 others. The outbreak let to mass vaccinations in the United States but caused 25 additional deaths due to side-effects from the vaccine.

• Swine Flu
• Barack Obama